Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 40, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 December 1907 — How Dorothy Found the Treasure [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

How Dorothy Found the Treasure

By MAY MYRTLE COOK

— — (Copyright) --- Pretty young Dorothy Vance realized somewhat of the meaning of death as the clods fell heavily upon the colfln that bore all of parent or guardian that she had ever known. And odd as was Miss Underwood,shc was acknowledged by all to have been all that anyone could wish her to be to the little orphan of her only sister. She had taken the child Dorothy at this sister's death and reared hes and educated her as if she had indeed been her own. Now she was a young lady and engaged to Harvey Wentwnrth A few friends gathered after the funeral and listened to the will which the old lawyer read, giving “all my property -to -m^ ! t>nly-llving relative and beloved niece, Dorothy Vance.” There were no minor legacies, this: When the old lawyer had finished reading the short document, he placed in the girl’s hands a letter and packet given him by Miss Jane on her death-bed, “to be given unopened to my niece Dorothy on the day of my funeral.” The congratulations over, the small company dispersed, and Dorothy was left alone to brood over her loneliness and count her wealth. For awhile she' forgot all about the letter and packet, in wondering over what her immediate future would be like. Then she remembered and listlessly opened both. The packet, which she opened first, contained a large purse, filled with bank notes and coin. Dorofny laid it aside while she read the letter: “My Dear Dorothy: I expect you are sorry that I am dead, even if we never did see much of each other. You did not waste much love on me, but don’t think I blame you. I loved you for your mother’s sake first, and after that for your own! But I never cared much for love in return, so I didn't*get any too much of it “However, that doesn’t matter now; what does matter is this, that I am dead and have left you all my property. You may think the house and the old place all there is for you, but it isn’t There’s money besides and it is all yours, provided you can find it. It’s in the house Bomewhere. “Nobody else knows anything about this, not even my lawyer, and you are not to tell. anyone! Remember, not a hint even to Harry Wentworth. “There’s enough money in the purse to keep you a year at least “Keep all the old servants for this ope year, if they will stay, and pay them the same wages that I did. After that yqu may do «aa you please about it ♦ If you do not mad the money at all this year, you can tell your husband, if you then have one, and have him help you hunt for it. "You know how much I always thought of the old sewing machine; keep it always, it is my wedding gift to you, or birthday gift if your lover failß you. Keep it clean, too, the machine, I mean; do all your sewing on it this year, and for mercy’s sake dust it at least once a week, and do it thoroughly. ———.——s “Keey the cut-glass molasses pitcher always on the table, and keep it full; I detest a half-filled sirup pitcher. “Your loving old aunt, “Jane Underwood.” It was a queer letter, and Dorothy sat still a few minutes, gazing atilt in comic dismay; then she read it over again. It was not the hidden money that made the most impression on her at first, but the odd command relative to the old machine and the molasses pitcher. The molasses-pitcher was full when Miss Jane died, and it stayed full; and Dorothy breakfasted, lunched and dined with the handsome old cutglass pitcher, full of golden-brown molasses, always in the place of honor. She searched day after day for the hidden money. Very carefully she had to work for not even the servants must guess her purpose, &nd servants, even the best of them, are apt to be all eyes and ears when a secret is concerned, especially when it is no concern of theirs. More than once during the first week did Dorothy’s small staff rejoice over an entire afternoon off, and little did they imagine how kitchen, pantry and cellar were ransacked in their absence. ■ ' Dorothy received a> letter from an old schoolmate. The friend was some years older than Dorothy and had married when still quite young. She was now the mother of two little “cherubs,” whose charms and sayings filled most of her letters. The next letter carried a long letter to the friend urging her to bring the two children and make a long visit. She sent word back that she would gladly come, and that two weeks would bring her. The train which was to carry away the guests left early in the morning, so, after a hurried breakfast, Dorothy accompanied them to the station. As she left the dining-room, Bhe said to the N “Leave the table alone until I return, for I have not had time to wash the china.” - y _ This was a task always performed

by the careful hands of the mistress of the house, and after her aunt's death one which Dorothy bad assumed with her own duties. The delicate china that had been Miss Jane’s pride' was too fragile to trust to the hands of maids. So it ’was that no one was aware that the last thing the eldest cherub had managed to do was to tip oyer the molasses-pitcher, and that for the half hour or more of Dorothy’s absence the golden liquid was slowlytrickling over immaculate linen and dainty china. ' Arrived at home, Dorothy was about to ring for the maid when a gleamof something shining caught her eye—something tiny and bright is the flowing , liquid, not far from the mouth of tue overturned vessel. She came closer and examined it. It was a tiny silver key. How did it get there? thought bewildered Dorothy, as she daintily picked it out and polished it on a napkin. Then, like a Hash it came to her this was the Jkfiy_ta.her treasuro-stere;-wheresoevgr~ that might be. And Aunt Jane, for some curious reason, had hidden it in the. old molasses pit after. Of course that Messed qfrerub had tipped the thing over as he had tried to do every day* for two months T C ~ Conquering her impatience to search sot the keyhole to which this fascinating key belonged, she put the precious thing away in her pocket and summoned the maid and the table was cleaned up. After all was done, the search began again. And up and down, from attic to cellar, and back again to attic

she roamed, pushing the slender key into every crack, but all to no avail. -For two weeks she kept it up, and it was in despair that one. morning she sat down to rest. “I have to give it up,” she thoughts Just then *her eye fell on the old machine, and she remembered, with a sort of shock, that she had not dusted it for over two weeks. She dropped the key in her pocket again, and soon was busy with duster and oiled cloth, cleaning and polishing the antique piece of furniture. There were not a few scratches and cuts, and these, wfth the carvings, after 'their long neglect, were hard to clean. She looked about for a bit of stick or a match with which to scrape out the accumulated dust, but not one was In sight. “Ah, the key,” she thought, and out it came and proved to be Just the thing. “It’B good for something at any rate,” she said to herself with a rueful smile. Here to the right was a deeper cut Chan any she had noticed before, and as Bhe scraped away at it she wondered where on earth Aunt Jane could have put the money, Then suddenly the thought struck her, perhaps It waa all a joke, and there had been no money at all. ’> Befbre she could fairly take in this idea, the key slipped in the crack near to its head, and like a shot the whole front of the machine seemed to fly out at her. She jumped back and stared in bewilderment at the strange sight that met her eyes. A tiny drawer the whole length of the machine, four inches wide and one and one-half inches deep, had been made in the front of the walnut stand, and Dorothy had unfittingly pressed the spring that released it, when she was cleaning out the unsuspected keyhole. Such wealth as was in the shallow drawer! First in the shining row there were 50 gold pieces, one for each year of Aunt Jane’s life, and each one a SSO piece. And below that the drawer was packed with bills. It amounted to ,pver $20,000! Untold wealth to Dorothy, and her first feeling was one Of helpless bewilderment as to what on earth she should ever do with it aIL Then Bhe thought of Harvey and decided to put it all away until -their • wedding day, and then turn it ovejf to him. He would know what best to do with it Then came June and brought rose* white to depH, the And when the last'kuest had gone Dorothy toM- > her, secret and gave her wealth fafto her husband’s hands. The money went into the bank, where it draws a sum that adds to the comfort of the young couple, and the little folks that later romp find play about the old house. P> , ’ The old molasses pitcher still has a place of honor on Dorothy’s table, and the old machine, too, keeps itk familiar place, although a new one does the family sewing, for the poor old one Is long past Its usefulness.

Stared in Bewilderment at the Strange Sight.